Here’s my journey as a female founder

and my mission for changing the world

What motivates me deep down is that if more female founders succeed it will have an exponential positive effect on the world

I created the non-profit organization Led By HER which empowers women who have suffered from violence through entrepreneurship.

Creating Led By HER was a way to give different forms of entrepreneurship a voice, and to raise a new form of awareness about gender based violence.

Led By HER, along with it's 200 volunteers and in partnership with business schools (IESEG, ESCP) and companies (DELL, AXA, Orange, BAIN, Starbucks) offers a yearlong program of entrepreneurship courses, mentoring and events to help women rebuild their lives. Axelle Lemaire, Minister for Digital Affairs and Innovation is our sponsor.

The Start

No, I didn’t always know I would be doing this.

In 2008 I graduated magna cum laude with highest honors from Harvard, where I studied French literature and sixteenth-century history. I thought I would be doing that for my entire life.

But I was also really passionate about making a difference in my community…

So while studying, I started a program to provide the homeless with direct access to resources in the only student-run shelter in the country.

I won the Houston and Ames awards at Harvard for individual leadership and change to the community. It changed my ideas about the impact I wanted to have on the world.

To complete my studies, I went on to receive my Masters in International Political Economy from Sciences Po and the London School of Economics because I thought the value of my work would be maximized by working for an international organization.

Then I had a professional experience that changed me.

My work on gender and equality started at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, where I learned that no investment project was gender neutral. I became convinced of the fact we lived in a crucial era in which we had to create proactive measures to create equality or else it would never emerge itself.

It was the experience that gave me the impulse to do more, but in my own way.

The path I traveled to get here was not easy, but the journey is hard for most of us. That’s why I love spreading the word, to share that although realizing one’s dreams is hard, it is worth it.

To spread awareness about the causes I believe in and to inspire more women to pursue their dreams, I regularly speak and write about what I do.

Learn more my specific areas of expertise and how I can be of value at your organization or next event.